Savannah's Jennifer Massey talks about her turn on The Apprentice

Savannah's Jennifer Massey didn't get hired on last month's live finale of "The Apprentice," but the 30-year-old securities litigator now living in San Francisco did beat out more than a million applicants to make it to Donald Trump's final boardroom showdown.

While 37-year-old Kelly Perdew got The Donald's job, time may prove Massey, a Savannah Country Day School graduate, the real winner.

In a question-and-answer session with the Morning News this week, Massey talked about lessons learned, new doors opened and why you can't always believe everything you see on TV.

Q. How accurately did the show portray the reality of what you and the other candidates experienced?

A. Well, it was reality in the sense that we weren't told what to say or do, but there were lots of times when what the television audience saw was not at all the way things really happened. Every week, the show's producers pared more than a hundred hours of footage down to a one-hour show - 42 minutes really, allowing for commercials. That left room for a lot of creative editing designed to advance the storyline.

This was my first experience with reality TV and I went in thinking they really wouldn't edit us. I know better now. There were times when situations were edited to appear totally different from what really happened. We didn't see the edited versions of the show until they actually aired. On more than one occasion I sat in front of the television with my jaw on the ground.

Q. What didn't we see?

A. I think the episode that surprised me the most was the one in which we developed a marketing campaign for Levi's. For that job, I spent a tremendous amount of time with the Levi's executives, researching the product and making sure our team knew what they wanted us to emphasize. But, in the final editing, none of that was shown. I also was tasked with doing 10 minutes of the presentation and handling the Q&A session, but the show was edited to make it look as if I had just jumped in to take credit for another team member's idea. They wanted to make me look cut-throat and scheming. I guess it made for better TV, but it wasn't the way it happened at all.

Q. The live finale was pretty brutal, with almost everyone Trump called on voicing support for Kelly. A lot of people, including several of your competitors who spoke out afterward, felt it was a real ambush. Do you agree?

A. I really don't know. It's easy to sit back now and play armchair quarterback, but at the time, I honestly didn't see it coming. By the time we got to the live finale, I'd seen all the other episodes and I knew that things weren't always what they seemed. So the more Mr. Trump played up Kelly, the more I thought he was setting up to pick me. I was pretty confident that I'd held my own in the boardroom sessions, which I think is ultimately more important than who sells the most ice cream.

In retrospect, I see the subtle signs now - the fact that, week after week, I was asked to defend my actions, to prove I could hold my own, where the same was rarely required of Kelly.

But I'm not really upset about the way things turned out. Yes, it got uncomfortable, but it was also a great opportunity to test my mettle in front of 20 million people. It was the ultimate task and, having survived that, I feel like I can do anything.

Q. Knowing what you know now, if you could go back and do it over, what would you do differently?

A. Aside from the editing, which was out of all the candidates' hands, I really don't think I'd change anything. Because to do so, I'd have to compromise my beliefs and principles and then I'd have to live with that. I'm comfortable now in that I feel I tried my best and I stood up for what I thought was right. I know that defending Stacie J. early on cost me some friendships but I'm still glad I did it.

Overall, it was a very positive experience, one I feel very fortunate to have had. Imagine having the opportunity to work with some of the top industry executives from companies like Levi's and Mattel? Where else could you find that?

Q. What was the biggest surprise of your Apprentice experience?

A. Beyond a doubt, the most amazing thing has been the hundreds of e-mails I'm getting from young women and teens who say that I'm their role model, that they're now thinking about going to law school or getting on a business track. They're saying "If she can do it, I can do it" and I find that so gratifying, and so humbling. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the show to have an impact beyond the entertainment factor. It's a responsibility I take seriously.

Q. Were you and the other Apprentice candidates really at each others' throats for 16 weeks?

A. Absolutely not. We had a lot of fun together and most of us have remained friends. But that isn't what the show is about, so what you see more of are the tense times, the times we argued and snapped at each other. And, certainly there were those moments. The show is set up to breed conflict and competition.

The idea was to give us more work than we could possibly do well within the time constraints, so we always felt under the gun. None of us slept more than two or three hours a night and our eating habits weren't much better. I lost 10 pounds.

Imagine 18 people basically living and working together and then having to go into the boardroom every week and point out each others' weaknesses. Naturally, nerves are going to be frayed and tempers short. But, for the most part, I think we handled it with humor and friendship. The audience heard the harsh words but rarely got to hear the apologies that followed or the light-hearted moments.

When Mr. Trump said to me during the finale, "Jennifer, your team didn't like you," you could have knocked me over with a feather. I was good friends with most of the competitors down to the final four or five.

Q. Taking yourself out of the equation, who do you think were the strongest candidates?

A. I think Andy has accomplished a lot in his 23 years and has a lot of integrity. He's definitely going to make an impact somewhere. Pamela is incredibly smart and accomplished, but she was really marginalized by the editing. She would have been a great Apprentice, but I don't think she got a fair shot at it. John and Brad also had a lot to offer. And Raj, for all his quirks, is truly one of the good guys.

Q. What's next on the horizon for you?

A. Right now, I'm still exploring my options. I'm amazed at the number of agents and businesspeople who are telling me that I've really won because - while working for Mr. Trump for a year would have been great - unlike Kelly, I'm free to strike while the iron is hot and the doors are opening.

One area I think I'd really like to explore is television. Being on Apprentice was my first experience with television and I've discovered that I enjoy working with producers. Since our taping ended, I've done some legal commentary for Fox and I'm talking to several other networks about hosting possibilities.

Q. We have to ask. What's your impression of The Donald?

A. Beyond the hair? That seems to be what everyone wants to know about. Seriously, I think he's a great businessman who's done a tremendous job of promoting himself. In person, he's a lot more real than he appears on television, where he comes off as kind of humorless and stiff. He actually has a great sense of humor.

Q. What are you most proud of in your Apprentice appearances?

A. The fact that I was able to go on a reality show, hang in for 16 weeks and still emerge with my integrity and dignity intact.